Legit question: What is the accepted reaction to getting gilded? I usually just reply to the inbox message and thank them there, but once a guy said that I'm a whore because I couldn't even be bothered to thank him publicly.

but once a guy said that I'm whore because I couldn't even be bothered to thank him publicly.

You should have made fun of him for paying money to reddit just to give a shiny little thing next to your name and expecting thanks in return. You don't owe him shit because you never asked for it in the first place.